Automatic radio tuning apparatus



Feb. 13, 1934. R, B- BRYANT AUTOMATIC RADIO TUNING APPARATUS Filed May 22, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet l @oy @ya/2f Feb- 13, 1934- R. B. BRYANT AUTOMATIC RADIO TUNING APPARATUS Filed May 22, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 13, 1934. R. B. BRYANT AUTOMATIC RADIO TUNING APPARATUS Feb. 13, 1934. R. B. BRYANT 1,947,186

AUTOMATIC RADIO TUNING APPARATUS Filed May 22, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Feb. 13, 1934. R B, BRYANT 1,947,186

AUTOMATIC RADIO TUNING APPARATUS Filed May 22. 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Feb. 13, 1934 l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC RADIO TUNING APPARATUS Roy B. Bryant, Dallas, Tex. Application May 22, 1930. Serial No. .454,790

2 Claims. (Cl. Z50-20) This invention relates to new and useful im panel 10 of a cabinet A. The clock is proprovements in automatic radio tuning appara.- vided with a train of gears B connected with the tuses. clock-works so as to be operated thereby. A

One object of the invention is to provide meansy disk 11 of bre or other insulating material is 5 for automatically selecting and tuning in successecured on a shaft 11 (Figures l and 8), which 60 sively at intervals over a period of hours, such shaftv is rotated by said gearing. The parts are particular broadcasting stations'as are operating so arranged and so proportioned that the disk at the time selected and which it is desired to listen will complete a full revolution each fteen minin on. utes, or any other period of time which is selected.

Another object of the invention is to auto- The disk is provided with an eccentric periph- 65 matically regulate the volumeof the loud speaker ery 12 having a shoulder 13. A contact bar 14 of the receiving set in harmony with the paris embedded in the disk with one end exposed at ticular station selected. the base of the shoulder. This bar is connected by A further object of the invention is to provide a wire 15 or other conductor with a commuta- 15 hand operating means for the tuning and volume tor ring 16 fastened on the shaft 11. A spring 70 controls which may be operated independently of brush 17 has one end riding on the periphery of the automatic means. the ring and the other end mounted on a brack- Another object of the invention is to provide et 17" and in electrical connection with a wire elements which may be adjusted to retain a par- 18. The Wire extends through the cabinet and 20 ticular station through one or more of the sucis connected with aswitch contact 19 (Figure 1) 75 cessive periods or to eliminate all stations and of a switch 20 secured on the base 21 of the cabnot operate the receiving set during one or more inet. successive periods. As is best shown in Figure 8, a spring-tensioned A construction designedtocarry out the invenbrush 22 engages the periphery 12 of the disk 25 tion will be hereinafter described together with 11 and is mounted on abracket 22 and electrical- 80 other features of the invention. 1y connected with a wire 23. The wire 23 ex- The invention will be more readily understood tends through the cabinet and engages the confrom areading ofthe following specification and tact 23 of the switch 20 (Figure 1). An orby reference to the accompanying drawings in dinary tumbler switch 26 is mounted in the front 30 which an example of the invention is shown, and panel of the cabinet adjacent the switch 20 and 85 wherein: has connection with the wire 18 by a Wire 18.Y

Figure 1 is a horizontal cross-sectional view The other pole of the switch is connected with of an apparatus constructed in accordance with a main circuit Wire 25. An electric motor 29 the invention, is connected with the contact 23 by a wire 28 and Figure 2 is a partial elevation of the same, also has connection with the other wire 29 of 90 Figure 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view the main circuit. taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, When the switch 26 is closed the circuit may Figure 4 is a sectional view of the plunger and be traced from the wire 29 through the motor ratchet means, 29, over the wire 28 to the contact 23. The

o Figure 5 is a sectional view of one of the stops, switch 20 has a switch arm 24 which is adapted 95 r Figure 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view to engage the contact 19, whereby the circuit is taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 4, closed through said contact over the wires 18 Figure 7 yis a partial plan view of the operatand 18 to the switch 26, which in turn is coning means, nected to the circuit wire 25. This will cause the 5 Figure 8 is a plan View o! the time switch, motor to operate when the arm 24 is in engage- 100 Figure 9 is an elevation of the ratchet elevatment with the contact 19. ing means, It will be seen that whenever the brush 22 Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the cam drops off the shoulder 13 and engages the condisk, v tact 14 the circuit will be closed over the wires Figures 11 and 12y are details of the ratchet 18 and 23. When this occurs the motor circuit 105 elevating means, and is closed on one side from the wire 29', motor 29,

Figure 13 is a view partly in section and partly wire 28 to contact 23 and thence over wire 23, in elevation of the lower portion of the apparatus. which, being connected with the wire 18, as be- In the drawings the numeral 10 designates a fore mentioned, will complete the circuit through y suitable clock which is mounted in thek front the wire 18', switch 26 and wire 25. 110

The motor 29 has a right angular driving gear 31 which engages with a ring gear 32 mounted on a horizontal cam disk 33 (Figures 1, 9 and 10). The disk 33 is journaled on a shaft 34 and a pedestal 34' secured on the base 21. The disk has a recess 35 in its periphery in the path of a roller 36 on the swinging end of an arm 37 pivoted to the base 21, as is best shown in Figure 13. The switch arm 24 is provided with a shoe 24 of electrical insulating material which engages the arm 37 so that when the roller 36 rides upon the periphery of the disk 33, the arm 37 will hold the arm 24 in engagement with the contact 19. When the roller 36 drops into the recess 35 the switch arm 24 will be released and will spring away from the contact 19, thus opening the switch.

It will be seen that when the roller 36 is in the recess 35 the switch 20 will be open and unless the arm 22 is engaged with the contact 14 the motor circuit will be entirely broken. The parts are so timed that while the circuit is closed over the wires 18 and 23 and the disk 33 revolved, the roller 36 will be displaced from the notch 35 and the switch 26 closed before the circuit is broken over the wiresI 18 and 23. This will assure the proper rotating of said disk.

A bell crank lever 39 is pivoted on a post 39 and carries an upright roller 38 on one end bearing against the periphery of the disk 33 and in the path of the recess 35. An upright panel board 49 is mounted in the panel 10 and is transversely curved, as is shown in the drawings. A coiled spring 4() connected with the rear side of this board and one arm of the lever 39 holds the roller 38 at the opposite end of the lever against the cam disk and under tension.

The panel board 49 is provided with an upright slot 41 in which a vertical ratchet bar 41 is exposed. This ratchet bar is mounted on the end of an arm 42 forming part of a vertically movable carrier (Figures 1, 9 and 13). The arm 42 is fastened on an upright sleeve 43 which is slidalole on a vertical post 44, which is carried upon an arcuate bridge plate 42. The sleeve normally rests upon this plate as does the bar 41.

The ratchet bar 41, when swung through the slot by the arm 42, engages a ratchet tooth or dog 46 on the end of a plunger 46, which is mounted to slide horizontally through a block 47, which in turn is vertically slidable on a shaft 55. The shaft is square in cross-section so that the block is held against relative rotation thereon. The plunger is slotted so as to receive the shaft and has a head 64 engaged by the upper end of a leaf spring 48, whereby the plunger is placed under tension (Figure 4).

The bar 55 forms the bridle of the swinging yoke and is connected at its upper end with an arm 58 extending over the panel board 49 and fastened on a vertical shaft 57. The board 49 is concentric to the shaft 57. The bottom of the bar is carried by a bell crank lever 56 fastened on the shaft 57 at the bottom thereof and extending under the bridge plate 42 and the lower edge of the panel board. By this arrangement the bar 55 may be swung concentrically over the face of the board 49 from one side to the other. The parts which have just been described are connected with mechanism for actuating the controls of an ordinary radio receiving set so that by swinging the bridle bar 55 such mechanisrn is operated and this mechanism will be hereinafter described.

For the present it will be presumed that by swinging the bar 55 to the left of the slot 4l' (Figures 1 and 2) that the tuning control of the radio will be operated and that the different stations may be located by stopping the bar at various points during its swing. For indicating these station locations, a graduated scale 56 is placed at the bottom of the panel board 49. A hand lever 97 fastened to a gear sector 90 journaled on the shaft 57 below the lever 56 extends under the board and has a pointer 97' adapted to register with the graduations of the scale. This hand lever may be used to manually tune the set or to indicate the point at which to set the station stops, as will be hereinafter described.

The face of the panel board 49 is provided with transverse arcuate grooves or channels 149, which are preferably dovetailed in cross-section (Figure 3). These grooves are superposed and regularly spaced. Each groove is provided with a slidable stop 85 on one side of the slot 41 and a similar stop 96 on the other side of said slot. Each stop 85 has a set screw 86 (Figure 5), which is adapted to engage the bottom of the groove and fasten the stop in position. Each stop 96 likewise has a fastening set screw 96.

The plunger 46, as is shown in Figures 5 and 6, is adapted to engage in the grooves 149 and it is obvious that by positioning two of the stops in the path of said plunger in its respective groove, the swing of the bridle bar 55 is thus limited. By positioning one of the stops 96 over a particular location on the scale 56', the plunger will be arrested at this point and the tuning mechanism of the radio set thus adjusted to this point, or in other words set to bring in the particular station to which the graduation on the scale corresponds. The stops 85 are positioned to limit the swing of the bar 55 to control the volume.

Starting the plunger 46 in the lowermost groove 149 and then periodically engaging the ratchet bar 41 therewith and lifting it successively to the different grooves, it is obvious that the bar 55 could be swung and the tuning and amplification carried out according to the position of the stops in the various grooves, and this will be hereinafter referred to. For elevating the rack, I provide a rocker 51 (Figures l, 9 and 13) mounted on a bracket 52 carried by the plate 42. This rocker carries a roller 50 on one end and engages at its opposite end under a pin 54 carried by the sleeve 43 (Figures 9, 11 and 12). The roller 50 is in the path of a boss 53 on the bottom of the cam disk 33 so that once during each rotation of said disk the rocker 51 will be swung, whereby the sleeve 43 and rack 41 will be raised and lowered.

A coiled spring 45 attached to the rear side of the arm 42 and also to a bracket 45 tends to swing the arm 42 away from the board 49, whereby the ratchet bar 41 is held within the slot 41 out of the path of the dog 46 of the plunger 46. One end of the lever 39 (Figure 1) engages the end of the arm 42 under the tension of the spring 40. When the roller 38 on the arm 39 rides into the groove 35, the spring 40 will swing the lever 39 which will in turn swing the arm 42 and thus engage the ratchet bar 41 with the plunger 46 and push its dog out of the groove 149 in which it is engaged. With the parts in this position the boss 53 will trip the rocker 51, whereby the bar 41 will be lifted so as to bring the dog 46 opposite the next highest groove. Thus when the roller 38 rides out of the recess 35 the spring 45 will Withdraw the bar 41 and the spring 48 (Figures 4 and 13) will force the plunger into the next highest groove ready for the next operation.

Every time the disk 33 revolves the plunger-will be stepped up one groove.

As before stated, the controlling mechanism for the radio receiving set is operated by mechanism mounted on the shaft 57. A gear sector 79 is journaled on the shaft 57, as is best shown in Figures 1 and 3. The sector 79 meshes with a rack bar 80 slidable in a housing 81 mounted on the platform 21 and engaging the underside of a pinion 82, which is fastened on a shaft 83. The shaft 83 is suitably connected to the rheostat of a radio receiving set (not shown). The shaft 83 extends through the front panel 10' of the cabinet and has a knob 99 fastened thereon, whereby said shaft may be manually adjusted if desired. l

The gear sector 90 meshes with a rack bar 91 slidable in a housing 92 carried by the platform 21. The bar meshes with the under side of a gear 93 which is made fast on the controlling shaft 94 of a radio receiving set (not shown).Y The shaft 94 may be connected with the usual tuning mechanism so as to tune the set when revolved. It will be seen that by swinging the sectors, the radio set may be tuned and the volume controlled.

A lever is pivoted at one end on a ypost 66 and extends over the disk 33. A roller 67 journaled on the under side of the lever rides in a cam track 68 in the upper surface of the disk 33 (Figures l, 3, 10 and 13). The swinging end of the lever is pivoted to one end of a bridle 69, which has its opposite end pivoted in common to a pair of links 70 and 71. The link 71 is pivoted to the arm 56 of the lever 56 while the link 70 is pivoted to a bell crank lever 72 journaled on the shaft 57. It will be seen that when the lever 65 is swung a direct pull or push will be exerted upon the bridle and thus the links will be expanded or retracted accordingly.

A pin 73 (Figures 3 and '13) depends from the lever 72 and between arms 74 and 75 journaled on the shaft 57. These arms carry uprights or fingers 74 and 75 which support the ends of a coiled spring 76 extending across the lever 72. The spring 76 tends to pull the arms together whereby the pin is retained therebetween and to cause said arms to straddle a post 77 arising from the base 21, as is best shown in Figure 3. This arrangement tends to resist swinging of the lever 72 and said lever can only be swung against the tension of said spring and by the spreading of said arms.

It will be seen that when the lever 65 is swung (Figure l), thus operating the bridle 69, the link 70 will become a fulcrum member, because of the tension spring 76, and this will result in the swinging of the lever 56 because of the connection between its arm 56 and the link 71 and further because said lever is journaled on the shaft 57 and no resistance is offered to its swinging.' The lever 56 will in turn swing the bar 55, as before described. Whenever suiiicient resistance is offered to the swing of the lever 56 the tension of the spring 76 will be overcome and the lever 72 swung.

When the motor 21 is idle the disk 33 will be in its neutral position, as shown in Figure 1. Upon rotation of the disk in a counter-clockwise direction the lever 65 will be swung toward the center of said disk, whereby the bridle 69 will be pushed and the links 70 and 71 retracted. This will cause the lever 56 to be swung to the right, whereby the upright bar 55 will carry the plunger 46 in the grooves 149 toward one of the stops 85. The link 71 will thus swing the arm 56' into engagement with an upright pin 78 (Figure 1) on the sector 79, whereby said sector will be swung and the rack bar 80 slid. The operation of the parts will be limited by the engagement of the plunger 46 with the stop 85 which is in its path, and consequently the rheostat shaft 83 will be revolved accordingly.

If by previous adjustments the sector 79 and rack bar 80 have been moved to the left (Figure l), thus holding the pin 78 out of the path of the arm 56 when the latter is first swung upon the next operation and the current stop 85 is set to arrest the lever 56, continued movement of the lever 65 will cause the lever 72 to swing and engage a pin 87 on the sector 79, whereby the rheostat shaft will be adjusted in accordance with the position of the current stop 85. It will be seen by observing Figures 2 and 13 that the stops 85 may be set at different distances from the slot 41"and the operation which has just been described would occur in connection with the stops marked C and D.

It must be remembered that the controlling bars 80 and 91 are adjusted in both directions and successive operations may require that each of said bars be moved either to the right or to the left according to the station selected and the volume required. The lever 56 has on its underside a lug 88 and the sector 90 carries an upright pin 89 (Figures 1, 3 and 13) in the path of said lug. The lever 72 has a finger 95 also in the path of said pin 89.

It will be seen, therefore, that when the lever 56 is swung to the left (Figures 1 and 2) and the bar 55 likewise swung, that there will be no movement of the sector 90 until said lug engages the pin. Thus when the lever` 56 is in its neutral position, as is shown in Figure 1, the hand lever 97 which is secured to the sector 90 (Figures 1 and 3), may be freely swung to manually manipulate said sector and tune in stations.

The movement of the bar 55 and the lever 56 to the left will be controlled by the stops 96. Referring to Figure 2, it will be seen that if the bar 55 is swung to cause the plunger 46 to engage the stop E, the sector 90 would be left in this position when the bar 55 and lever 56 are swung back to their normal position, which would be caused by the swinging of the lever 65 due to the cam track 68. Upon the next operation of the device, whereby the ratchet bar 41 would be elevated by the lever 39 and the rocker 5l to move the plunger into the next highest groove 149, the parts would be swung until the plunger 46 engaged the stop F. The lever 56 would move a short distance before engaging the pin 89. Upon return of the parts the sector would be left in the position to which it was adjusted. Upon the next operation the plunger 46 would engage the stop G in the next highest groove and would not move as far as on the previous operation and, therefore, the lever 56 being arrested, the lever 72 would be swung whereby the finger 95 would engage the pin 89 and return the sector until the pin 89 engaged the lug 89, the lever 56 having remained in its adjusted position during this operation.

From the foregoing it will be seen that by setting the stops 96 in accordance with the scale 56 and by properly adjusting the stops 85, stations may be successively tuned in at regular intervals during a period of hours. By placing two stops at the same location, the same station may be retained during successive periods. The parts are restored by the track 68 and when the roller 36 rides into the recess 35, as is shown in Figure i3, the switch 20 will be opened, thus breaking the motor circuit and stopping the motor 29.

Whenever the stops and 96 are positioned on each side oi the slot 41 the lever 56 will beprevented from swinging upon rotation of the disk 33, but the lever 72 will be swung whereby the iinger will engage the pin 89 and swing the sector 90 to its extreme left hand position (Figure 1). The sector will engage a lug 103 of insulating material on the end or a spring switch arm 101 and displace it froma switch contact 102. rIhe arm and contact have circuit connection with the operating switch or" the radio receiving set and this circuit will be broken, whereby the set will remain idle. By this arrangement the tubes will not he burned or any eurent used through the radio set so long as the stops are on each side of the slot 4l and no station is selected for each of these channels.

When the plunger 46 is engaged in the highest groove 149 the next operation of the parts will lift the plunger causing the top of a pin 59 carried in a slot 6C of the block'. 47 under tension of a spring 61 to engage the outer end of the arm 58, Eis the block rises with the motion of the pin arrested by the the pin is depressed in the slot 6D with shoulders 62 of the pin engaging in complementary slots 63 in the plunger, whereby the plunger is held from engagement in the grooves 149 when released by the ratchet bar 41. The block will then slide down the shaft 55 under its own weight and upon reaching the bottom of said shaft the lower end of the pin 59, which extends below the block, will strike the outer end of the lever 56 with sufiicient force to lift the shoulders 62 from engagement in the slots 63, thereby permitting the plunger to engage in the lowermost groove 149 under tension of the spring 48.

If for any reason the clock should stop or the motor should fail to operate the parts, thereby causing the plunger to get out of time adjustment with relation to the grooves 149, the plunger may be manually reset by pulling the plunger outwardly from engagement in the grooves and sliding said plunger on the shaft 55 to the desired position. Then by resetting the clock or correcting the motor trouble, the parts are once again in time adjustment.

Various changes in the size and shape of the different parts, as well as modifications and alterations, may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim, is:

1. In an automatic radio tuning apparatus, a panel board having transverse grooves, a plunger slidable in said grooves, a ratchet bar for engaging said plunger, automatic means for engaging the ratchet bar with the plunger, and automatic means for elevating the ratchet bar, whereby the plunger is lifted successively from one groove to the next groove of the board.

2. An automatic radio tuning apparatus as set forth in claim 1, with stops adjustable in said grooves for limiting the movement of the plunger longitudinally of said grooves, and automatically operated radio control means connected with said plunger.

ROY B. BRYANT.

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